TOULON, Ill. — News 8 is learning more about a shooting in Toulon where 66-year-old Rodney Williams was shot and killed by law enforcement conducting a search warrant Saturday.
According to Illinois State Police, a Henry County Special Operations Squad made up of several different Henry County based agencies were serving a search warrant when Williams tried striking police with a machete. His family said they feel that the deadly encounter didn't have to happen.
"We wholeheartedly believe that other forces, besides lethal forces could have been used, could have prevented this, and that he would still be here with us," Rodney's son Rodney Williams Jr. said.
Williams' family gathered outside of his house on Monday to highlight the person they remember him as.
"He was an outgoing person," Rodney Jr. said. "He retired from the Stark County High School. He worked there for 20 years. He was well-liked in the community. Known for his famous laugh. You could hear it through the school."
Williams had been struggling with mental health for the past three years after being diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's, according to his family. After having the sheriff's department do multiple welfare checks, the family became discouraged and felt that he was not getting the help he needed.
"We contacted APS, Adult Protective Services, to try to help him know get out and get the help that he needed," Rodney Jr. said. "We were in contact with local law enforcement."
Their most recent attempt was to be granted emergency guardianship by the court a day before Williams died. According to the family, the judge ruled that he would not give emergency guardianship without proof from a doctor. The family could not obtain this because he had barricaded himself in his apartment for over a month.
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